The OECD and the European Commission DG REGIO launched the project "Measuring and Enhancing Subnational Government Finance for Environment and Climate Action in OECD and EU Countries" in 2022.
Tracking subnational government climate expenditure
Supporting subnational government climate actions requires having a comprehensive understanding of their financial role in the carbon neutral transition. However, despite the key role of subnational governments in climate action, the true scale of their financial role remains poorly understood, and significant data gaps related to methodological difficulties exist. Subnational climate-expenditure tracking is essential for assessing the financial role of subnational governments in the transition in light of global, national and subnational climate objectives.
About
Our mission
The project aims to develop a pioneering and standardised methodology to track the share of public expenditure and investment deemed “climate-significant” in OECD and EU countries.
How it works
The OECD developed the Subnational Government Climate Finance Database, covering data for 33 OECD and EU countries from 2001 to 2019. Additionally, a Working Paper on Subnational Government Climate Expenditure and Revenue Tracking in OECD and EU Countries was produced.
33
countries with subnational climate finance data
The database incorporates expenditure-related data for 33 OECD and EU countries, with COFOG level 1 and COFOG level 2.
69%
share of climate-significant public investment undertaken by subnational governments
In 2019, subnational governments, on average, represented 69% of climate-significant investment in 32 OECD and EU countries.
0.4%
share of subnational climate public investments in GDP
In 2019, on average, subnational governments’ climate-significant investment accounted for 0.4% of GDP.
Subnational Government Climate Finance Database
The database includes data on subnational government climate-significant expenditure and investment for 33 OECD and EU countries from 2001 to 2019. Data was collected using a standardised methodology, initially developed in 2018 by the OECD and updated as part of the joint OECD-European Commission project, based on national accounts data.
Get in touch
For more information about the project and upcoming events, please contact Isabelle Chatry (isabelle.chatry@oecd.org)